Couple Marooned After Winning Dream Island Wedding

Allison McWatters and Tracey Strachan thought all their dreams had come true.

They went to the North City Wedding and Bridal Expo in Wellington, New Zealand in January and decided to try their luck by entering a prize draw for an all-inclusive wedding package at the popular Edgewater Resort in Rarotonga – and won.

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Their first holiday together was in the Cook Islands so the idea of getting married there was a dream come true.

But when they emailed the resort to claim their prize they were dismayed after being informed that same-sex marriage was illegal in the Cook Islands, and so the ceremony couldn’t proceed.

They contacted both the expo and the resort for help but neither was able to assist, and then communications stopped.

“We’re not asking them to marry us. We’re not even asking them to bless us,” Allison said.

“We’re just asking them to be able to use their venue which they offered us in the first place by winning the prize.”

“We were shocked,” Tracey said. “We were able to enter the prize, if it wasn’t able to be fulfilled the prize shouldn’t have been held here.”